SC man charged with Backpage rapes

23-year-old Rodney Sherard Edwards of St. George, South Carolina is accused of raping two women in North Charleston. He is said to have found both women on Backpage and stormed their hotel rooms where he allegedly raped and then robbed them.

The first victim is 18-years-old and admitted to police that she was working as an escort. The second victim was a 29-year-old woman who was not mentioned as an escort but she was robbed of three cell phones which can indicate working in prostitution. Why am I mentioning that the victims could be prostitutes? It’s not to demonize the victims but to show the pitfalls of not only prostitution but advertising on backpage. Even if these women weren’t being trafficked they still have to deal with violent psychopaths like this. Some prostitutes seem to think that advertising on a site like Backpage is safer than walking the streets. It isn’t.